Tax Information Exchange
The US government and the international community led by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) have implemented a framework of domestic laws and international agreements that facilitate the automatic disclosure of financial information held by banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions to domestic tax authorities, and for the exchange of that information to take place internationally between tax authorities for the purposes of identifying and deterring illegal tax evasion. The framework for this international exchange of tax information now operates in all the major jurisdictions around the globe. The exchange of tax information between Guernsey and the US commenced in 2015 under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA"), and tax reporting between Guernsey and various other countries commenced in 2017 under the Common Reporting Standard ("CRS").
Utmost Worldwide is therefore subject to tax information exchange legislation in Guernsey and other jurisdictions in which it operates. This means that the law requires Utmost Worldwide to disclose certain data and financial information of policyholders and their associated parties at least annually to local tax authorities which may in turn share that information internationally with other tax authorities in a relevant jurisdiction. Furthermore, Utmost Worldwide is required to obtain and maintain information from all policyholders and their associated parties in respect of their citizenship, residence for tax purposes and corresponding tax identification numbers (TIN) or an equivalent tax identifier reference where applicable. This information must also be periodically kept up to date. Policyholders and their associated parties are expected to co-operate with requests for information relating to international tax compliance as failure to do so may adversely affect their respective tax liabilities.
It should be noted that the same obligations relating to international tax compliance apply to all banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions that operate in the same jurisdictions as Utmost Worldwide and that the mandatory disclosure of information by Utmost Worldwide or any other financial institution in accordance with tax information exchange laws or the associated international guidelines does not breach applicable Data Protection Law or any other actual or implied obligation or duty of confidentiality.
Contact Us
Utmost Worldwide cannot provide tax advice but should you have any queries regarding the operation of tax information exchange arrangements under FATCA or CRS, or other related international tax compliance issues, please contact our Head Office at the following address:
Utmost Worldwide Limited,
Utmost House,
Hirzel Street,
St Peter Port,
Guernsey,
Channel Islands GY1 4PA.